Stephanie Salomone is the principal investigator on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which encourages talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers, in particular at high-needs schools, by offering them internships and scholarships to defray the cost of their UP education. The recently funded $1.2 million project is a comprehensive partnership between the College of Arts and Sciences, the Shiley School of Engineering, the School of Education, the Moreau Center, Saturday Academy, and Portland Public Schools and counts among its collaborators Dean Sharon Jones (SSEN), Tim Doughty (SSEN), Tisha Morrell (SOE), Jacquie Van Hoomissen (BIO), Laura Goble (Moreau Center), Amy Beadles-Bohling (BIO), and Hillary Merk (SOE).
Years ago, it did not seem that an NSF grant in Math was in Stephanie’s future. Stephanie admits that she “liked math and was good at it, but not as good as her classmates.” A professor even remarked that he didn’t think she would be successful as a career mathematician. With that thought lingering in her mind, her plan was to enroll in the Masters of Science in Teaching program at Boston College and become a high school math teacher. However, she soon realized that she loved math and wanted to teach at the University level. Surrounded by supportive faculty who believed in her, she enrolled in the Ph.D. program at UCLA.
Stephanie feels she “got lucky” when the math department identified her as one of their strong candidates, which is no small feat considering the math department typically receives over 300 applications for open positions. Even when interviewing during an ice storm, she felt drawn to UP and the genuine idea of a community of scholars both in her department and in the college. She knew instantly that UP was a good fit for her and cancelled all her interviews upon receiving an offer. The Holy Cross approach to educating the whole person resonates deeply with Stephanie and she infuses those ideals in her teaching.
Even while conducting pure math research, Stephanie was always drawn to mathematics education. She served as an NSF GK-12 fellow for Science and Math Inquiry in the Los Angeles Urban School system and as consultant to Benson High school for its algebra curriculum.
Therefore, it is not surprising that her first major grant resulted from a confluence of factors that Stephanie holds as ideals; community, teaching, scholarship and collaboration.
The Noyce Scholars and Interns program at UP has several threads that will ultimately increase the number of highly trained K-12 STEM teachers. Noyce Summer Interns will be freshmen and sophomore STEM majors who will work as teaching assistants in Saturday Academy classes for students grades 2-12. Noyce Scholars are junior and senior STEM majors and career-changing STEM professionals who are being trained to be reflective teachers dedicated to social justice through education. The scholars will receive scholarships to offset the cost of their undergraduate and MAT tuition, and will then serve two years as teachers in high-needs schools for each year of scholarship. The project will address a critical need for highly-trained STEM educators within the Portland Public School system, and strengthen ties between divisions of the University of Portland and Portland Public Schools.